Refrigerator



Patented June 16, 1931 WILLIAM R. JEAVONS, 0F HEEIGHTS, OHIOREFRIGERATOR Application filed November 8, 1930. Serial No. 494,343.

This invention relates to a refrigerator ,of the type wherein arefrigerant container is located within a food space which is enclosedby'walls lagged against the transfer of heat. This food space is cooledby the evaporation of a liquidin the container, .which liquid evaporatesat a temperature below the freezing point. The refrigerantcontainer isusually located in the upper part of the food space, and therefrigerator is provided with a door by means of which access to thefood space may be obtained. 1

In the operation. of refrigerators of this type, the quantity of fluidin the refrigerant container varies in accordance with the cycle ofoperationof the particular device; at one time the container may benearly full, while at another time it may be only partially full, ornearly empty. However, at practically all times the upper portion of therefrigerant container is out of contact with the liquid therein. Evenwhere the refrigerant container consists of an evaporating chamberencased within a brine-containing tank, the top of such brine tank isnearly always out of contact with the brine contained therein. Hence,there is nearly always some portion of the metal casing for therefrigerant which is not in contact with the cooling liquid therein.When a refrigerator of the type referred to is in a quiescent condition,all portions of the exterior walls of the refrigerant container willattain a temperature below the freezing point, with the result that allsuch parts will be entirely covered with hoar frost. However, when therefrigerator is in use, its door will be frequently opened for access tothe articles contained therein as well as for the introduction of warmfoods thereinto, which results in a rise in temperature of the airwithin the refrigerator surrounding the container. A direct result ofthis interrup tion of the quiescent condition will be a rise intemperature above the freezing point of the upper portions of the wallsof the container, which are not in contact with the refrigerant,resulting in the surface melting of the body of hoar frost thereon,which frost is a poor conductor of heat. The water due" to the meltingof the hoar frost 0n the upper part of the refrigerant container willrun downwardly and congeal into ice on the sides of the container whichare ator below the freezing. temperature. This water will melt only thesurface of the hoar frost on such parts of the container as aremaintained continuously at a temperature below freezing, and the waterwill soak into the porous, powdery hoar frost thereunder and into closerproximity to, or contact with, the freezing surfaces of such parts. Therepetition of this action over a period of several days will result inan accumulation of nearly solid ice on the portions of the containerwhich may be maintained below the freezing point by contact of therefrigerant therewith, and this accumulation becomes thicker from day toda ft is usual to provide refrigerant containers with a tunnel-likefreezing chamber projecting thereinto from the front or doorfacing endof the container and so located with reference to the container as to beat all times surrounded by the refrigerant in the container and hencemaintained constantly at a temperature below the freezing point. Thischamber is used for the reception of trays for ice cubes or receptaclesfor food to be frozen. It .has been found that the mouth of thisfreezing chamber, being asimple opening in the front of the container,is, because of the location of the chamber, at all times also subjectedto a temperature below the freezing point. Hence, the water due to themelting of the frost on the parts of the container above such mouth runsdown the front wall of the container and freezes around the mouth andwithin the front of the same so that in a short time the mouth to thefreezing chamber becomes obstructed and clogged with ice so that a tray,food receptacle, or article in such chamber can be rea i moved only withdifficulty; in fact, it is frequently necessary to chop away theaccumulated ice before the contents of the chamber can. be removed. Itis, therefore, necessary, in order to permit convenient access to thefreezing chamber, to stop the operation of the refrigerator periodicallyfor the purpose allowing the P ts of t e refr gerant container to bewarmed sufficiently to melt the ice that has accumulated about andwithin the mouth of the freezing chamber. This melting operation isreferred to as dc-frostin l ft is the general purpose and object of myinvention to prevent the formation of ice about and within the mouth ofthe freezing chambers of refrigerant containers and thereby torenderunnecessary the de-frosting operations heretofore employed for thepurpose of clearing the mouths of or entrances to such chambers; and,inasmuch as the accumulation of ice on the other parts of the containerdoes not materially detract from the efficient operation of an ordinaryrefrigerator of the type to which my invention relates, my inventionobviates the necessity for the frequent defrostingof such containers aspracticed heretofore.

In the drawings forming part hereof, Fig. 1 is a sectional view througha portion of a refrigerator showing the refrigerant container with itstunnel-like freezing chamber, the said container being provided with myinvention; Fig. 2 a view similar to Fig. 1, showing a modifiedform ofthe invention appearing in Fig. 2; Fig. 3 a view similar to Fig. 1 of afurther modified form of my invention; and Fig. 4; a detail inperspective of the refrigerant container shown in Fig. 3.

Describing first by reference characters the various parts in Fig. 1, 1denotes generally the rear wall, 2 the top wall and 3 a portion of thefront wall of a refrigerator, these walls being constructed in a mannerwell known in the art to minimize heat transfer. The front wall isprovided with a door a providing access to the food space 5 within whichthere is located the metal refrigerantcontainer 6. The container shownherein is of the simple form wherein no surrounding brine tank isemployed, the evaporating liquid extending preferably as high as orabove the top wall of the tunnel-like freezing chamber 8, which projectsinto the body of the container from the front wallv 9 thereof. A tray 10having compartments therein for freezing waterinto ice cubes is shownwithin the tunnel-like freezing chamber, the tray being provided with ahandle 11. In the form of my invention shown in Fig. 1, the mouth of thechamber 8 is extended forwardly or toward the door a by means of anintegral extension 12 and is provided at the front end of such extensionwith a facing flange 13 which extends at right angles therefrom(parallel with the front of the container) and is shown as provided witha rearwardly deflected edge 14, the external dimensions of the flangebeing approximately the same as the front of the container 6, wherebythe flange forms a spaced finishing face for the front of the container.

In order to understand the manner in which the extension 12 prevents theformaing of the space 5 within the refrigerator is due entirely to therefrigerant container in the upper portion of such space and that aircontacting with this container drifts downwardly and, absorbing warmthand moisture from the foods and other articles within the refrigerator,drifts upwardly to the top of the space, where it again contacts withthe cold exterior of the container, with the result that the moisturetherein is condensed on the exterior of such container. The extension 12constitutes a shield which prevents the formation of ice in and aboutthe mouth of the freezing chamber, this shield projecting above theentrance to or mouth of the freezing chamber to a point in the spacewhere it will periodically attain a temperature above freezing. Thisperiodical attainment of such temperature is caused by the opening andclosing of the door 4; for the insertion of food into and the removal offood from the refrigerator, as well as by the influence of therelatively warm foods which are placed within the refrigerator, whichcause a temporary warming of the air in the space 5. The shield preventswater that may run down the front of the container 6 from freezing onany permanently cold parts in or about the mouth of the freezingchamber, as, due to the extension of such mouth by the shield 12, thereare no such permanently cold parts in or about such mouth. The shieldoperates to secure this result by protecting this extended mouth of thefreezing chamber from access of moisture-laden air thereto from above.This action of the shield is indicated on Fig. 1, wherein 15 denotes icethat has been formed by the contact of the downwardly-flowing ordrifting moisture-laden air with the front wall 6 of the said containerand with the said shield. The shield projects forwardly a suiiicientdistance from the cold wall of the container so that any slight frost orice accumulation that may occur at its front or outer end will bemelted, at least periodically, to water which will drain to points suchthat, on re-freezing, it will cause no obstruction of the mouth of orentrance to the freezing chamber.

YVhere the front or outer end'of the shield 12 is flanged, as shown inFig. 1, it has been found that the length of the extension or shieldneed not be more than of an inch or one inch, as the flange (due to itsarea), and the extended mouth of the tunnel. will periodically attain atemperature above freezing and thus prevent such an accumulation of iceas will obstruct the mouth of or entrance to the freezing chamber andinterfere with the removal of the contents thereof.

In Fig. 2 there is shown a modification of my invention wherein thefreezing chain-- ber 8 is provided with an extension 16 constituting ashield and shown as an integral continuation of said chamber. Inthiscas'e,

the flange 13 is omitted and the shield is ex-:

tended closer to the door 4. The shield in this case may be from 1 to 2inches in length; but it will have the same effect 'in preventingobstruction of the mouth .of or entrance to the chamber 8 as the shieldshown in Fig. 1. Having its front or outer end in closer proximity tothe door 4 is advantageous, as the inner surface of the door is nearlyalways at a temperature well above the freezing point, and the proximityof the outer front end of the shield to the door contributes to itsefiiciency not only because it insures proper temperature conditions forsuch end of the shield aswill prevent any detrimental accumulation ofice thereon and therewithin but the door also forms in effect a partialclosure for the freezing chamber from the drift of the moisture-ladenair from above and thus minimizes the opportunities for any detrimentalaccumulation of ice on or within the outer end of said shield. If theouter edge of the shield is in close proximity to the door, the doorwill function to prevent nearly all of the moisture-laden air from abovefrom contactingwith the interior of the outer end of the shield whetherthis outer end is or is "not at the freezing temperature. The outer endofthe shield in this case will be periodically (if not continuously) ata temperature above freezing whereby there can be no such accumulationof ice as will interfere with the removal of the tray 10 or any otherarticles which may be placed within the freezing chamber, and thisdespite the absence of the flange employed with the former shield.

In Figs. 3 and 4 there is shown a further modification of my inventionwherein the shield-like extension 17 is open at the bottom. It has beenfound that a shield thus constructed will operate efficiently to preventsuch obstruction of the mouth of or entrance to the freezing chamber aswill prevent or interfere with the removal of the contents of suchchamber, This will be readily understood from the fact that themoisture-laden air, as well as the water resulting from the melting ofthe frost onthe upper part of the container 6, will flow downwardly, notonly along the front faceof the container but also in contact with thetop and downwardly along the, sides of the shield and that there will beno detrimental-accumulation of ice within the lower edges of the sidesof the shield as well as-on the front or outer edge of the same. VHaving thus described my invention, what i I claim 1s:

1, The combination, with a refrigerator having a space for the receptionof food and a door, of a refrigerant container within said space andhaving a freezing chamber proj ecting thereinto from one of thewallsthereof, and a shield for the mouth of said chamber, the saidshield extending outwardly from said wall a distance sufficient tosubject the' outer end of said shield at least periodically to atemperature above the freezing point whereby the entrance to saidchamber through said shield will not be detrimentally obstructed by anaccumulation of ice.

distance to subject the outer end of said shield at least periodicallyto a temperature above the freezing point whereby the entrance to saidchamber through said shield will not be detrimentally obstructed by anaccumulation ofice. I

3. The combination, with a refrigerator having a space for the receptionof food and a door, of a refrigerant container within said space, thesaid container having a freezing chamber projecting thereinto from thewall thereof which is presented toward said door, the said chamber beinglocated below the top of the said container, and a shielding extensionof said freezing chamber projecting gherefrom toward and in proximity tosaid oor.

4. The combination, with a refrigerator having a space for the receptionof food and a door, of a refrigerant container within said space andhaving a freezing chamber projecting thereinto from oneof the wallsthereof, and a shield for the mouth of said chamber, the said shieldextending outwardly from said wall and being so positioned as to preventwater or moist air from above from contacting with and congealing uponthe cold entrance walls of the freezing chamber.

5. The combination, with a refrigerator having a space for the receptionof food and a door, of a refrigerant container within said space and.having a freezing chamber pro jecting thereinto from one of the wallsthereof, a shield for the "upper portion of the mouth of or entrance tosaid chamber projecting outwardly from the said wall and constituting anoutward extension of the upper portion of said chamber, the outer end ofsuch shield projecting to a point where it is subjected at leastperiodically to a temperature above the freezing point whereby the outerend of the shield and the entrance to said chamber will not bematerially obstructed by an accumulation of ice.

6. The combination, with a refrigerator having a space for the receptionof food and T a door, of a refrigerant container within said space andhaving a freezing chamber projecting thereinto from one of the wallsthereof and below the top thereof, and a shield constituting anextension of the said chamber and projecting outwardly from said walland being provided with a flange at its outer end.

7. The combination, with a refrigerator having a space for the receptionof food and a door, of a refrigerant container within said space andhaving a freezing chamber projecting thereinto from one of the wallsthereof and below the top thereof, and a shield constituting anextension of the said chamber and projecting outwardly from said walland being provided with a flange at its outer end substantially parallelwith the wall from which such shield extends, the outer flanged end ofsaid shield extending to a point where it is subjected at leastperiodically to a temperature above the freezing point whereby the outerend of said shield and the entrance to said chamber will not bematerially obstructed by an accumulation of ice.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto afiix my signature.

WILLIAM R. JEAVONS.

